CIA director: Putin too confident he can grind down Ukraine
CIA Director William Burns says Russian President Vladimir Putin is being “too confident” in his military’s ability to grind Ukraine into submission
Wilmington, Del. (AP) — As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, CIA Director William Burns said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being “too confident” in his military's ability to grind Ukraine into submission.
Burns, in a television interview, said the head of Russia's intelligence services had displayed in their November meeting “a sense of cockiness and hubris” that reflected Putin's own beliefs “that he can make time work for him, that he believes he can grind down the Ukrainians that he can wear down our European allies, that political fatigue will eventually set in.”
That conversation, in which Burns warned of the consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, was “pretty dispiriting,” Burns said.
Burns said he judged Putin as “quite determined” to continue prosecuting the war, despite the casualties, tactical shortcomings and economic and reputational damage to Russia.
